Lincolnshire Police hand out almost 1,000 COVID fines during pandemic

Lincolnshire Police have issued 983 coronavirus-related fines during the pandemic while forces in England and Wales had processed a total of 118,963 fixed penalty notices by December 19 last year.

The latest data was released by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) this month and covers the period between March 27, 2020 and December 19, 2021.

Coronavirus-related fines issued by Lincolnshire Police have included 10 to a group who gathered in an abandoned building near Louth, and eight given out after three house parties in the Ermine area of Lincoln.

The data for the number of fines issued by Lincolnshire Police is broken down as follows:

• Breach of first and second, and local lockdown regulations – 237
• Local COVID-19 alert levels – 2
• Hold a gathering of more than 30 people – 3
• Breach of national lockdown regulations – 88
• All tiers – 578
• Steps (relating to gatherings, participation in gatherings and business closures) – 23
• Face coverings regulations (public transport and relevant place) – 32
• International travel regulations – 13
• Business regulations  – 5
• Self-isolation regulations – 2

Back in January 2021 it was revealed Lincolnshire Police had issued 576 fines, meaning in the months that followed the figure rose by another 407. The initial figure of 576 fines released by Lincolnshire Police was prior to any review by the force. After being reviewed 86 fines were withdrawn, including one of £10,000 issued to a student for allegedly organising a party of up to 100 people.

Jemma Peacock, communications and media advisor at Lincolnshire Police, said: “The numbers of fines issued now are extremely low and this reflects the national legislation around COVID and the expectation of policing to enforce only when necessary, and we’re happy to report that the numbers of people breaching any existing COVID regulations for which they could be fined are very low.”

During the same period (March 27, 2020 to December 19, 2021) Humberside Police gave out 655 coronavirus fines. The force said it sends reports of allegations of breaches of COVID legislation to ACRO (Criminal Records Office) which administers and despatches the fixed penalties.

The force previously issued statements when earlier data was released, but when asked by The Lincolnite for a response to the most recent figures on coronavirus fines they declined the opportunity to give one.

Meanwhile, as part of the same data the NPCC revealed a January 10, 2022 snapshot of UK officer and staff absence rate. The national absence rate for officers and all staff, across all of UK policing, stands at 9.4%. However, the NPCC does not provide force level breakdowns of this data.